GM to put Super Cruise hands-free driving in all Cadillacs

The Cadillac Super Cruise CT6 has a hands-free driving system for the freeway seen at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit on Thursday, Jan. 25, 2018.(Photo: Kimberly P. Mitchell, Detroit Free Press)

Super Cruise, a hands-free driver assistance feature for the freeway, will be available on all Cadillac models beginning in 2020, the automaker said.

General Motors will start putting Super Cruise on other GM vehicles after 2020, it said.

The 2018 CT6 luxury sedan is currently the only Cadillac to offer Super Cruise.

Cadillac will also offer “vehicle-to-everything” (V2X) communications in "a high-volume crossover by 2023." That technology will also eventually be available across Cadillac's vehicle portfolio, said Mark Reuss, GM's executive vice president of global product development, purchasing and supply chain.

“The expansion of Super Cruise and V2X communications technology demonstrates Cadillac’s commitment to innovation, and to making customers’ lives better,” Reuss said in a media statement. “GM is just as committed to ushering in a new era of personal transportation."

Reuss said these such technologies will enable that era.

Reuss announced the news Wednesday at the Intelligent Transportation Society’s annual conference in Detroit. It comes about a week after GM announced a partnership with SoftBank Vision Fund to invest $3.35 billion in GM Cruise to speed the development of technology to bring self-driving cars to urban areas in the form of ride sharing starting next year.

Drivers can drive hands free on about 130,000 miles of limited-access freeways in the U.S. and Canada. The attention system detects keeps drivers from losing focus on the road. Reuss said drivers must pay attention and not use a hand-held device when using Super Cruise.

Cadillac introduced vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications on the CTS sedan in 2017. It uses "dedicated short-range" communications technology. V2V can be extended to the roadway infrastructure and to anyone using the road. Using V2X, compatible vehicles can be notified of hazardous road conditions, traffic light statuses, changing work zones and more. It has a range of nearly 1,000 feet, so drivers can be alerted to danger in time to avoid a crash.